Naven
Answers
Is Google Chat the same as Google Messages?
No. Google Messages is the texting app on Android phones: it sends SMS and RCS messages to phone numbers. Google Chat is a separate messaging service tied to Google accounts and Google Workspace, used in Gmail and at chat.google.com. The confusion comes from Google calling RCS features in Messages "chat features".
Google Messages replaces the old SMS app on most Android phones. It sends texts to phone numbers, and when both people have RCS (Rich Communication Services) switched on it adds typing indicators, read receipts, high-quality photos and group chats over the internet. Google labels RCS as "chat features" inside Messages, and a conversation can show "Chat message" in the text box. None of that is Google Chat.
Google Chat is Google's successor to Hangouts. You reach people by their Google account or email address rather than their phone number, it lives inside Gmail, in the Google Chat app and at chat.google.com, and it is built around direct messages and "spaces" for groups and teams. It is part of Google Workspace, which is why schools and companies use it, but anybody with a personal Google account can use it too.
The practical difference. Messages is for texting people in your phone's contacts, including iPhone users (Apple added RCS in iOS 18, so group chats between iPhone and Android work better than they used to). Chat is for messaging people by their Google account, on any device with a browser, including a laptop or Chromebook with no phone number involved.
Which to use depends on who you are trying to reach. For friends and family you would normally text, Messages. For classmates or colleagues on the same Google Workspace, Chat. For people you want to reach by email address without anybody needing a Google account or a phone number, a browser-based messenger such as Naven works the same way on every device.